Why do folks insist that Mattel made M16 rifles for the military? I have had folks on another forum tell me their dad had a handguard stamped Mattel and another guy swear he carried a Mattel M16A1 for a year in 84-85! I cannot convince them that Mattel never made any miltary rifles.

How a politician stands on the Second Amendment tells you how he or she views you as an individual… as a trustworthy and productive citizen, or as part of an unruly crowd that needs to be lorded over, controlled, supervised, and taken care of.

It was new,lighter,smaller, made from plastic and the first ones were not doing very well in combat like a cheap toy.most say the mattel, a toy M-16 they had back then.An old saying was:you can tell it's mattel,which was mattels slogan
people are dumb also.

pretty much all of the above, and it probably didn't help that mattel came out with a toy m-16 not long after m-16s being adopted and issued...

Atomic Treehouse
OCCASIONAL RETRO FUN - Emphasis on Fun. [Okay maybe the emphasis is on occasional, but just play along won't you?]

Jan 29, 2008
M-16 Marauder Mattel 60's

A really short history of the real M-16. In 1948, the Army organized an Operations Research Office. An early project of this office was to study 'small arms' effectiveness. Battlefield reports from America's previous wars were studied and the ORO came to a few conclusions. Most small arms combat takes place at close range, less than 300 yards. Quantity usually won out over quality. Careful aim didn't seem to matter much. The number one cause for casualties was the number of bullets used. The Army decided their best solution was to find a new high velocity .22 caliber automatic weapon.

Over the next 10 or 12 years, many weapons were tested but the winner was the AR-15 designed by Eugene Stoner, a former Marine who had been designing guns since his discharge from the service after World War II. Stoners weapon was a departure from most guns tested. He had realigned the barrel with the stock which kept the gun from rising as much when fired automatically and he also used cutting edge materials like aluminum and plastic where he could. The AR-15 was 2 pounds lighter than it's closest competitor and it had a much lighter recoil.

A few thousand guns were sent to Vietnam for testing in battle conditions in 1962 and the initial reports said the new rifle was plenty lethal. While at close range the bullet left an entrance wound and exit wound of approximately the same size, at longer distance the bullet would 'tumble' when it hit a fleshy target. The entrance wound was the same but the bullet left a huge gaping hole on exit.

In 1964 both the Army & Air Force adopted the new weapon now called the M-16 and thousands were sent to Vietnam. Soldiers aren't too thrilled with the new gun with it's plastic stock & aluminum parts. Jokes about the rifle being made by Mattel abound. In fact, the Mattel connection to the real M-16 is an urban myth to this day. Many people swear they saw or have seen M-16's from the Vietnam era with the Mattel logo emblazoned on the plastic stock. [We'll get to the toy in a minute] In an effort to create enough ammunition for the new M-16, the Army used a different gunpowder than the one designed specifically for the rifle. The new powder is not field tested and the results are disastrous. The new powder increases the guns firing rate, creating greater wear and it leaves deposits in the barrel which allow the gun to jam. To make matter worse, the gun had been marketed to the Army as "nearly maintenance free" and was sent out with no instructions on cleaning. The fiasco was investigated by a Congressional committee which praised the weapon and blamed the problems on Army mismanagement. Intensive M-16 training was then introduced,the ammunition was changed, and the gun was redesigned to carry a cleaning kit in the stock. Since then, the M-16 has been the armed forces weapon of choice for over 50 years with an estimated 8 million used worldwide.

Mattel's M-16 Marauder was a full sized replica of the real thing. When you cocked the rifle and pulled the trigger the Marauder let loose the sound of machine gun fire. The more you cocked the gun, the longer the burst. With the rifle under Congressional investigation and the assassinations of Both Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy in 1968, the Marauder probably had a short shelf life. I would guess at most three or four years. I've heard there is a red white & blue version of the box.

Trivia: In John Wayne's pro Vietnam film "The Green Berets", there's a scene where Wayne smashes his M-16 against a tree. It's said he used Mattel's Marauder instead of the real thing.

K.

My conservative commonwealth's 232 year old state seal is a direct COC violation. Our founding fathers approved of images of bared breasts...

Yeah I heard the same thing from a few vets who swore up and down that their M16's were made by Mattel. People just forget because we've had plastic for decades now that when this rifle first came out, plastic furniture on a rifle was for the most part unheard of (I know I'm going to get pooh poohed for this because of Bakelite and other plastics on .45's grips and MP40's) but it was for the most part never on mass produced American military rifles to the extent it was on the M16. So where was the government going to go to get all this black plastic furniture mass produced? Well you have to think about who was mass producing huge quantities of injection molded plastic that was of high quality in the United States in the early 1960's? Don't have to look any farther than the toy industry. Also, its because of the fact that when the M16 was first introduced, Mattel was contracted by Colt to make the plastic furniture while Colt was finishing up their own production processes. From what I've read on other sites, the contract was very short and very small amounts were produced, but the legend still endures to this day...

Originally Posted By JoeSchmo:Yeah I heard the same thing from a few vets who swore up and down that their M16's were made by Mattel. People just forget because we've had plastic for decades now that when this rifle first came out, plastic furniture on a rifle was for the most part unheard of (I know I'm going to get pooh poohed for this because of Bakelite and other plastics on .45's grips and MP40's) but it was for the most part never on mass produced American military rifles to the extent it was on the M16. So where was the government going to go to get all this black plastic furniture mass produced? Well you have to think about who was mass producing huge quantities of injection molded plastic that was of high quality in the United States in the early 1960's? Don't have to look any farther than the toy industry. Also, its because of the fact that when the M16 was first introduced, Mattel was contracted by Colt to make the plastic furniture while Colt was finishing up their own production processes. From what I've read on other sites, the contract was very short and very small amounts were produced, but the legend still endures to this day...

See what I mean. Even here the myth is perpetuated.

Next you are going to tell me that Col. Sanders made M16's during the Vietnam war too.

How a politician stands on the Second Amendment tells you how he or she views you as an individual… as a trustworthy and productive citizen, or as part of an unruly crowd that needs to be lorded over, controlled, supervised, and taken care of.

Originally Posted By JoeSchmo:Yeah I heard the same thing from a few vets who swore up and down that their M16's were made by Mattel. People just forget because we've had plastic for decades now that when this rifle first came out, plastic furniture on a rifle was for the most part unheard of (I know I'm going to get pooh poohed for this because of Bakelite and other plastics on .45's grips and MP40's) but it was for the most part never on mass produced American military rifles to the extent it was on the M16. So where was the government going to go to get all this black plastic furniture mass produced? Well you have to think about who was mass producing huge quantities of injection molded plastic that was of high quality in the United States in the early 1960's? Don't have to look any farther than the toy industry. Also, its because of the fact that when the M16 was first introduced, Mattel was contracted by Colt to make the plastic furniture while Colt was finishing up their own production processes. From what I've read on other sites, the contract was very short and very small amounts were produced, but the legend still endures to this day...

Originally Posted By JoeSchmo:
Yeah I heard the same thing from a few vets who swore up and down that their M16's were made by Mattel. People just forget because we've had plastic for decades now that when this rifle first came out, plastic furniture on a rifle was for the most part unheard of (I know I'm going to get pooh poohed for this because of Bakelite and other plastics on .45's grips and MP40's) but it was for the most part never on mass produced American military rifles to the extent it was on the M16. So where was the government going to go to get all this black plastic furniture mass produced? Well you have to think about who was mass producing huge quantities of injection molded plastic that was of high quality in the United States in the early 1960's? Don't have to look any farther than the toy industry. Also, its because of the fact that when the M16 was first introduced, Mattel was contracted by Colt to make the plastic furniture while Colt was finishing up their own production processes. From what I've read on other sites, the contract was very short and very small amounts were produced, but the legend still endures to this day...

It endures because 'tards continue to say Mattel made parts for Colt when there is ZERO proof they did.

This is definatly one of the funnier posts!! I'm enjoying it..DOC,that is tootally cool and may have to do it on one of my 80%ers..Yea,we all know mattel did'nt make them or parts..I have spoken to some Nam vets at our living history displays and they too know mattel never had anything to do with M16,,but to this day some of those vets DO refer to it as "that mattel toy rifle",,most of those same guys trained with the M14 and at some point where issued the M16,,so I can see why they look at it as a toy!

There are some stupid people out there. A guy that was in the Fire Adacemy with me, and who just seperated from the Army, swore up and down that his M16 was manufactured by the Ronald McDonald Corp. Yes, freakin McDonald's. Could not convince him otherwise.

Originally Posted By m1sniper:F'in Doc,,you're killin me here,,Just what I need as I'm about to go down to the garage to drill out the fire control pocket on an 80%er.ETA what's that supposed to read in the red???

SAFE.....PISSED......POSTAL

Doc

Remember, traffic lights set for 35mph are also set for 70mph.

My Mom always told me:"Boy, if you're not in bed by 11:00, you may as well come home!"

How a politician stands on the Second Amendment tells you how he or she views you as an individual… as a trustworthy and productive citizen, or as part of an unruly crowd that needs to be lorded over, controlled, supervised, and taken care of.

"While at close range the bullet left an entrance wound and exit wound
of approximately the same size, at longer distance the bullet would
'tumble' when it hit a fleshy target. The entrance wound was the same
but the bullet left a huge gaping hole on exit."

Eh...ok.

"A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it. Remember that." - Alan Ladd, Shane, 1953

"The 1911 rules, and anyone who says otherwise is a filthy communist." - Lancair (from Australia)

State of Nebraska Constitution "...the right to keep and bear arms for security or defense of self, family, home, and others, and for lawful common defense, hunting, recreational use, and all other lawful purposes, and such rights shall not be denied.

Originally Posted By JoeSchmo:Yeah I heard the same thing from a few vets who swore up and down that their M16's were made by Mattel. People just forget because we've had plastic for decades now that when this rifle first came out, plastic furniture on a rifle was for the most part unheard of (I know I'm going to get pooh poohed for this because of Bakelite and other plastics on .45's grips and MP40's) but it was for the most part never on mass produced American military rifles to the extent it was on the M16. So where was the government going to go to get all this black plastic furniture mass produced? Well you have to think about who was mass producing huge quantities of injection molded plastic that was of high quality in the United States in the early 1960's? Don't have to look any farther than the toy industry. Also, its because of the fact that when the M16 was first introduced, Mattel was contracted by Colt to make the plastic furniture while Colt was finishing up their own production processes. From what I've read on other sites, the contract was very short and very small amounts were produced, but the legend still endures to this day...

It endures because 'tards continue to say Mattel made parts for Colt when there is ZERO proof they did.

Original AR15/M16 furniture was not injection molded plastic, it was fiberglass. I believe it's still not injection molded for the handguards.

This is absolutly halarious. I have worked on Kurt Russell's airplane, I have got to show him this.Can you imagine somebody today spotting a Kid near an overpass pointing this Sonic Blaster at cars as they go by.The local L.E. would likely shoot him.

This is absolutly halarious. I have worked on Kurt Russell's airplane, I have got to show him this.Can you imagine somebody today spotting a Kid near an overpass pointing this Sonic Blaster at cars as they go by.The local L.E.entire SWAT team would likely shoot him.

TiredIron

Fixed it for ya......

Doc

Remember, traffic lights set for 35mph are also set for 70mph.

My Mom always told me:"Boy, if you're not in bed by 11:00, you may as well come home!"

Dang ya! Sent me off to the world of way-back-when and left me driftin' from vid to vid of the commercials of my youth!
That killed about an hour of my semi-valuable time and left me feeling all nostalgic and melancholy...
I think I'll go hug my dog. She ain't as old as me, but at a ratio of 7-to-1, she's catching up.

Only thing I can't figure is why all of my childhood commercials are in black-and-white. I mean, it wasn't that long ago, was it??
Maybe I should just take my Geritol and put a Lawrence Welk record on the hi-fi. ...It ain't easy bein' retro.

I'd love to become familiar with the unique ballistic characteristics associated with an original 1-in-14 twist barrel, You know, like from an old 601?I really, really would.I'm just saying.

I wonder what a teacher would do today if a 6YO brought those to school.
Did anyone used to put a whole roll down on the concrete and smash it with a brick?

Used to sit on Grandma's front porch and smash them with a river rock from her flower pots. We had a kid bring a Japanese bayonet his Granddad brought back from WWII for show and tell. Nothing was said, the teacher kept it at her desk then after school he got it back and took it home, that roll of caps would be a terroristic threat charge today.

I wonder what a teacher would do today if a 6YO brought those to school.
Did anyone used to put a whole roll down on the concrete and smash it with a brick?

Jeeze,,I guess I was destined to be a carpenter,,I remember taking my Dads hammer and beating on many rolls of those caps..And yes they are still made,My 11 yr old went thru the cap gun phase and we get themat the dollar store..

I remember perturbing one of those caps with something (a fork, maybe) when I was about 5; scared the beejeezus out of me when it went off in my fingers. What are those caps? Just black gunpowder or is there more to them? They did make hydroscopic residue, because I can recall my cap guns all rotted from moisture. Of couse, cleaning equipment wasn't issued with them...

I had one of those cap-firing grease guns; the plastic part holding the barrel broke. Had one of the tommy guns, too. Jeeze, this thread has been fun.

A Viet Nam vet buddy, and non-bullshitter, swears he saw a Mattel marked AR in the armsroom rack in 'Nam. I suspect he may have seen just that; some smartass armorer put a Marauder there.
Moon

A friend of mine's Dad said, him and a couple other guys bought a bunch of marauders, and put them in a rack at the armory. They got in deep shit over it, but a number of people actually believed that Mattle was making M16s. He said it drove him crazy later when people were still claiming a toy company made military weapons.